February 2012

Dear Friends,

This month we are pleased to host Harry Middleton as he shares stories and video clips of ten unforgettable moments in the Library's forty-year history. You won't want to miss this program! We encourage you to bring a friend or colleague who might be interested in learning more about the Library or joining the Friends.

In the next couple of weeks, you'll receive the spring edition of Among Friends, which will provide a listing of all of our spring programs. In the meantime, I hope you'll save the date for our March program, on March 20, on my upcoming book entitled Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency. (The book, an oral history on LBJ and his administration, will be published on March 13. All proceeds will benefit the LBJ Foundation.) Brian Sweany, deputy editor of Texas Monthly, which will excerpt the book in its March issue, will conduct a conversation with LBJ Administration alumni Tom Johnson, Harry McPherson, Larry Temple, and me about LBJ's fascinating life and evolving legacy.

I hope to see you at both of these programs.

All the best,

Mark K. Updegrove
Director

Ten Unforgettable Moments at the LBJ Library

Forty years ago last May, Lyndon Johnson dedicated the LBJ Library with the words "It is all here: the story of our time - with the bark off." In honor of Presidents' Day, please join Harry Middleton and Mark Updegrove on Wednesday, February 22 at 6:00 p.m. to recognize ten of the Library's most unforgettable moments, shared through stories and video clips. These remarkable moments - some historically significant, others just plain entertaining - reflect the Library's proud heritage.

Mr. Middleton was the Director of the LBJ Library and Museum for thirty years. His long and fruitful tenure as the Library's Director earned him a reputation among his peers as "the dean of presidential library directors." He also served as staff assistant to President Johnson from 1967 to 1969 and assisted in the preparation of the President's memoirs, The Vantage Point.

An RSVP is required to attend. Please return the postcard enclosed with your invitation or email your response to friends@lbjlibrary.net by February 15. Please bring your new laminated membership cards for admittance; your membership card will serve as your ticket. The doors will open at 5:15 p.m. A special reception honoring Mr. Middleton will follow the program.

Know a friend or acquaintance who would enjoy being a Friend? This is a great opportunity to share our speaker series with him or her! Guests will be admitted free of charge but must be registered in advance.

At the reception, you will have an opportunity to share on video your recollections of LBJ, his administration, Mrs. Johnson, and the sixties in general. If you would like to share your memories of President and Mrs. Johnson and their times, please prepare your thoughts to share with us and look for the special area at the reception in the Great Hall.

Mrs. Johnson's Centennial Year

Had she lived, Mrs. Johnson would celebrate her 100th birthday on December 22 of this year. As such, we will remember Mrs. Johnson each month in our eNewsletter, and - later this year - in programs at the Library. I hope you will join us in honoring her legacy.

LBJ Library and Museum

When the First Family was first approached by The University of Texas to host the presidential library on its Austin campus, the Johnsons envisioned a proactive institution, a place where progress was the focal point. As the presidential duties became increasingly more time consuming, President Johnson began to rely more on Mrs. Johnson to achieve their joint goals. As plans for the library evolved, Mrs. Johnson realized that a need for a corresponding program existed. Soon, a center for the public policy materialized, which became the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.

After much planning, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum opened on May 22, 1971. Mrs. Johnson later wrote that she learned a few things about presidential libraries along the way. First, a library is a research facility. Secondly, it is a "visual picture," or a museum. Thirdly, and most importantly in her eyes, the LBJ Library is "a lively, vigorous ongoing center for the study of today's features." Lady Bird recognized the power this institution possessed to make a Great Society even greater.

New exhibits

There are two new exhibits on display on the fourth floor of the Library and Museum. Etched Memory: Icons of American Photography at the Briscoe Center features ten iconic photos that help define the American visual memory of the last 70 years. See Joe Rosenthal's unforgettable photo of U.S. Marines raising an American flag on Iwo Jima, Bob Jackson's image of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald, and Thomas Franklin's indelible image of Ground Zero.

United States Secret Service chronicles the history of the Secret Service and pays tribute to the special agents who put their lives on the line. Both exhibits will close on March 25, 2012.

Photograph of flag raising on Iwo Jima, February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal.

For any questions related to your Friends of the LBJ Library membership, please email friends@lbjlibrary.net.